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WITS BUSINESS SCHOOL ACADEMIC STYLE GUIDE AND
REFERENCING (APA 6th style)
Do NOT plagiarise: it is intellectual theft
and may result in your expulsion from the
University
We may, at any time and without further notification, test any
submission for plagiarism. We generally use Turnitin software for
this purpose. Any student or staff member may run their own
work through the software to self-check and rectify, at any time.
The importance of referencing
All sources used in written submissions in the course of your degree
must be referenced. This is done to acknowledge the work of others,
to avoid plagiarism, to pinpoint quotations and to enable readers to
follow-up on referenced sources.
Citations appear in the text, references are listed alphabetically at
the end of the paper. All citations must be referenced, and all
references cited; i.e. all sources that are cited in the text must appear
in the reference list at the end of the paper and vice versa.
Descriptive verbs
Rather than using the monotonous “he says, she says, they say”
formula, vary the verbs you use when discussing published works.
Some alternatives (there are many others as well) to “Author X says . .
.” are:
acknowledged, responded, reported, argued, found, recognized,
accepted, established, questioned, concluded, challenged, pursued,
opposed, contended, continued, stated, testified, told, specified,
indicated, listed, explained, proposed, investigated, described, defined,
challenged, claimed, queried, maintained, disputed, discussed,
debated, identified, analyzed, agreed, suggested, recommended,
illustrated, formulated, affirms, maintains, professes, refutes,
CHOOSE YOUR WORDS CAREFULLY SO THAT THEY ACCURATELY
REFLECT WHAT IT IS YOU WANT TO SAY
APA 6th style basics
The APA style uses the author-date format for citations; i.e., the
author's last name and the year of publication in brackets (e.g.:
Dewey, 1998) in the text, and a full reference with all the required
information in the reference list at the end of the document.
APA 6th Style Guide Wits Business School
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The above rule applies whenever you are referring to an idea from
another author, institution, etc.. or, in fact yourself if you are referring
to some of your own previous work that has been published. You will
have paraphrased and/or summarised the idea, but NOT directly
quoting it verbatim.
Verbatim or direct quotes must ALWAYS be cited with a page number,
e.g. (Dewey, 1998; p.45), where ‘45’ is the page number on which the
direct quote can be found. Putting in direct quotes without giving a
page number is the same and copying and pasting from someone
else’s work (suggesting that it is your own), and is plagiarism.
If you use direct quotes in your document, do so only sparingly. They
are good for adding emphasis, illustrating a point or making a punchy
start / finish to a section. Overusing direct quotes suggests that you
have not thought about what you are writing (and some laziness to be
honest); not acceptable at this level.
Format for in-text citations and quotes:

General reference, at the end of the sentence as shown (author,
date). For example:
The non-profit sector is a significant player in local economies
(Swilling & Russel 2002).

General reference (author, date) in the middle of the sentence.
For example:
This applies both in South Africa (Swilling & Russel, 2002) as well as
internationally (Masaoka, 2005).

Author’s name (date) at the beginning, end or middle of the
sentence. It would be grammatically incorrect to put both the
name and the date into brackets:
Masaoka (2005) describes the importance of the economic role played
by non-profit organisations in international markets.
The importance of non-profit organisations in international markets has
been described by Masaoka (2005).
INCORRECT: (Masaoka 2005) describes the importance of the
economic role played by non-profit organisations in international
markets.

For two authors or editors give both surnames followed by the
date (FirstAuthor & SecondAuthor, date). The style uses ‘and’ in
the text and an ampersand (&) in the citation, e.g.
The non-profit sector is a significant player in local economies
(Swilling & Russel 2002).
vs
According to Swilling and Russel (2002), the non-profit sector is a
significant player in local economies.
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
When there are three to five authors, give all the names the first
time the citation appears, then FirstAuthor et al. for subsequent
citations.

When there are six or more authors, give the name of the first
author only, then ‘et al.’ and finally the year, e.g. (AuthorA et al.,
date).

Where there is more than one citation for a particular fact, put
them both into the same set of brackets separated by semicolons, e.g. (AuthorA, date; AuthorB, date). They will be listed
alphabetically then by date. Make sure you are consistent.

When citing authors with the same surname, give first name
initials with each surname, e.g. (B. Naidoo, 2005; Y. Naidoo,
2008).

When an author has written more than one paper in the same
year, and you want to cite both, use lower-case letters (a, b, c)
to differentiate them, e.g. in Smit’s (2008a) study of South
African non-profits, it was found . . .

When referring to an electronic document, apply the authordate format as far as possible. Many electronic sources do not
have page numbers, so, include a reference for the reader to
locate the information, e.g. a sub-heading or paragraph
number. Assist the reader as far as possible to find the part you
are referring to.

Always capitalise proper nouns, e.g. names of places, months,
author names, etc.

DO NOT capitalise other words in the text unless they are
acronyms. When capitals are tossed around willy-nilly, even
when referring to an important concept it is untidy, inconsistent
and incorrect.

We prefer you to use South African English (similar to UK
English). However, you may use American English if you wish.
Whichever it is, BE CONSISTENT.
Much of this may appear to be nit-picking. Rather look on it as
attention to detail and precision.
This is very important in business, as well as academic,
communications and will be treated as such when marking
assignments and research documents.
Page numbers for short verbatim quotes
When you are quoting directly, the quote itself must be in inverted
commas. The citation is as described above with the author and date,
but the page number must be put in as well by putting in “p.45” after
the date, (here 45 is the page number on which the quote appears).
For example:
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According to Swilling and Russel (2002, p. 45), “Major contributors to
the viability of micro-economies are non-profit organisations” OR
According to Swilling and Russel (2002), “Major contributors to the
viability of micro-economies are non-profit organisations” (p. 45).
Page numbers for long verbatim quotes
For direct quotes with more than 40 words, do not use inverted
commas. Put the quote into a separate double indented paragraph.
Then put the page number either in the bracket with the date, or at
the end of the quote. For example:
Jones (1998) was firm in her view that:
Students sometimes had difficulty using the APA style,
especially when it was their first time citing sources.
This difficulty could be attributed to the fact that many students
hadn’t referred to a style manual or asked for help (p. 199).
Summary or paraphrase
When you are paraphrasing an idea from another work, only make
reference to the author and year of publication in your in-text
reference (do not put in a page #), e.g.:
The non-profit sector is a significant player in local economies
(Swilling & Russel 2002).
Formatting with Endnote
1.
Select the APA 6th style in Endnote and in your word processor.
2.
When you import references into Endnote, make sure that ALL
the required information arrives. Sometimes, for example, the
issue number or the ending page number does not arrive –
immediately open the abstract or actual article to get these
details and manually put them into Endnote.
3.
Make sure you have selected the correct reference type, e.g.
journal article, book, web page, etc. or it will not appear in the
right format.
Formatting without Endnote
This is not recommended. If you are not using Endnote you will spend
a great deal of time and effort on your references, which will somehow
never be exactly right. You must be consistent and correct to avoid
being penalised.
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The reference list:
References must be listed alphabetically by the first author’s
surname, then by year, with the oldest reference first. If you are citing
a number of works by the same author/s, all the names must be
listed each time.
The principle is very simple: Complete and consistent - i.e. include
ALL the information necessary for the reader to access the source, in a
consistent manner. If a reference type is not described here you can
deduce the format from this principle, or consult the full style guides,
available in the library and on the internet.
Take note of where all the full stops, commas, spaces etc. appear – or
do not appear – and follow the format EXACTLY.

For titles of articles, etc. only capitalise the first word of the
title.

Italicize the ‘physical object’, i.e. book titles, journal names,
movies, documentaries, e.g. Designing brain-compatible learning;
The Wizard of Oz; Journal of Mixed Methods Research

Note that both volume and issue of journal articles are required.
If they do not download, you must open the actual article, locate
the relevant number and either type it in or insert it manually
into Endnote.

Note that both beginning and ending page numbers are
required. If it does not download, you must open the actual
article, locate the relevant number and either type it in or insert
it manually into Endnote.
Type
Journal article
Reference Format
Author, A. (Year). Title. Journal name, Volume (Issue), start
page#-end page#.
Abosi, O. (2007). Educating children with learning disabilities
in Africa. Learning Disabilities Research & Practice,
22(3), 196-201.
Journal article
more than one
author
FirstAuthor, A. & SecondAuthor, A. (Year). Title. Journal,
Volume(Issue), start page#-end page#.
Adams, R., Atman, C., Nakamura, R., Kalonji, G., & Denton,
D. (2002). Assessment of an international freshmen
research and design experience: a triangulation study.
International Journal of Engineering Education, 18(2),
180-192.
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Type
Journal article
with a “doi”
number
Reference Format
APA will sometimes import what they call a “doi” number.
Please delete this from the record in Endnote so that
these references look exactly like a normal journal
article.
Journal article
online
Author, A. (Year). 'Title', Journal, Volume(Issue), pp. Pages, last
accessed Date, from URL in full.
Book
Author, A. (Year). Title, (Edition ed.). City: Publisher.
Dhillon, G. (1997). Managing information system security.
London: Macmillan.
Cresswell, J. W. (2009). Research Design: Qualitative,
Quantitative and Mixed Method Approaches (Third ed.).
London: Sage Publications.
Book Section
Author, A. (Year). Title. In Editor, A. (ed.) Book Title. (Edition.
Ed.) (pp. start page#-end page#). City: Publisher.
Nonaka, I., Umemoto, K., & Sasaki, K. (1998). Three Tales of
Knowledge-creating Companies. In G. von Krogh, J.
Roos & J. Kleine (Eds.), Knowing in Firms,
Understanding, Managing and Measuring Knowledge
(pp. 146-172). London: Sage.
Edited Book
Editor, A. (ed.) (Year). Title Edition ed. City: Publisher.
Denzin, N. K., & Lincoln, Y. S. (Eds.) (1994). Handbook of
Qualitative Research. Thousand Oaks: Sage.
Magazine
article
Magazine
article no author
Newspaper
article (choose
“web page” as
reference type)
This is actually the
publication date of
the newspaper
Author, A. (Year). Title. Magazine, Date, start page#-end page#).
'Title' (Year). Magazine, Date, start page#-end page#.
Author, A. (Year, last update date). Title. Newspaper, Retrieved
Date, from URL in full.
McLeod, D. (2008, 27 June 2008). A broad band of dismay.
Financial Mail Retrieved 11 November, 2011, from
http://secure.financialmail.co.za/08/0627/technology/ff
eat.htm
Newspaper
'Title' (Year). Newspaper, Date, start page#-end page#.
article no author
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Type
Conference
proceeding
Reference Format
Author, A. (Year, conference dates and month). Title. Paper
presented at Conference Name, Conference Location,
Publisher.
Falconer, D. J., & Mackay, D. R. (1999, 1-3 December). The
Key to the Mixed Method Dilemma. Paper presented
at the 10th Australasian Conference on Information
Systems, Victoria University of Wellington, New
Zealand.
Thesis (or
Dissertation or
Research
Report)
Author, A. (Year). Title. Degree Thesis Type, University, City.
Report
Author, A. (Year). Title, Type, No. Number, (pp. start page#-end
page#). Institution, City.
Orlikowski, W. J. (1988). Information technology in postindustrial organizations: An exploration of the
computer-mediation of production work. PhD thesis,
New York University, New York.
AACSB. (2008). Final Report of the AACSB International
Impact of Research Task Force (pp. 1-49). Tampa,
Florida.
Web page
Day and month only
Act of
Parliament
(select Book as
type of ref and
include all
numbers and
details in the
title)
Author, A. (Year, Last Update Date). Title Retrieved Access Date,
Access Year, from URL in full.
Nisthar, S. (2011, 4 May). Public-Private Partnerships : A
Global Call to action Retrieved 20th January, 2011,
from
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC514532/
Republic of South Africa. (1995). The South African
Qualifications Authority Act, Number 58. Government
Gazette Number152. Pretoria, Government Printer.
For Acts of parliament and
government publications, the
country is the author
APA 6th Style Guide Wits Business School
August 2012